Top Essays USB Drive

This USB drive contains 100 of the top This I Believe audio broadcasts of the last ten years, plus some favorites from Edward R. Murrow's radio series of the 1950s. It's perfect for personal or classroom use! Click here to learn more.

“A lady is always on her toes, realizing that every encounter makes a lasting impression. A lady thinks before she speaks and knows that false congeniality is as obvious as fake eyelashes. Trends come and go but true style is timeless.”

What is the persona of a lady? Is she foreseen as a lady who walks the streets of New York, flaunting her designer outfit along with a Versace hand bag caressing her shoulder? Or is she a lady who lives in the country wearing cowboy boots and cut off shorts from Wal-Mart?

I believe every woman is characterized for being unique in their own way. However, a lady shouldn’t be categorized by their wealth or material objects. Her etiquette and inner beauty should define a lady, even more so being strong, in her mind, heart, and soul.

Every woman makes mistakes, but it takes a lady to recognize them in order to bring herself back to reality. I have had my share of mistakes. However, they have helped me accept the life long challenges while exploring my identity of becoming a true conservative lady.

Society has changed. Women are not as considerate of others as they should be. Carelessness has been afflicted upon individuals. The use of foul language and violence toward others has all-together become disrespectful of the people and their surrounding environment. That’s how I came to realize, I needed to grow up and understand the meaning of genuine courtesy.

In the year 2004, I faced a challenge that I now deeply regret. In 2001, My mother and Brother, along with myself moved from my hometown in Camden Tennessee to Louisville Kentucky. I thought I would really enjoy living in a new environment, but I was wrong. I’d come home from school every day, crying, because they bullied me. Being away from my other family I became really depressed. I lived in Louisville until my freshman year of high school, which was about two years. I couldn’t take the hurt of living there anymore and wanted to move back to my hometown in Tennessee. By 2004 a troublesome argument had come between my mother and me. Therefore, I ended up packing my bags and told my mother I was going for a visit with my family in Camden. In reality, I secretly plotted to move back to Camden without telling her. At the time, I was careless of my mother’s feelings and disrespected her in many ways. These events changed my character and helped me become the honest and conservative lady I am today.

Now, I look to my mother as an inspiration. Although I hurt her, very deeply, she came out on top and proved herself as a true lady. She stayed strong and surpassed every obstacle that I made her endure. Being truthful and respectful to yourself and others is what being a lady is all about. I have pursued my identity as a lady by accepting these challenges. I have learned to respect myself, More so by respecting those who surround me in my life. My only hope is that I may one day pass on these challenges to my daughter and other women to pursue their identity of becoming a lady.

Essay of the Week

On August 28, 1963, Benita Porter went with her mother to attend the March on Washington. It was during Dr. King’s spellbinding message of hope, love, and the universality of mankind that Ms. Porter was inspired by the belief that words—her own words—could arouse passion, change minds, and bring about social change. Click here to read her essay.

What Students Believe

Throughout the school year, young people around the world write statements of belief as a classroom exercise. And thousands of those students have submitted their essays to our series. Click here to read a sampling of what young people believe.